Slap
by KTEW
Summary: I was glad Longshot had gotten himself a girlfriend, it was about time… But why did it feel like a slap in the face when I saw them together? SMELLERSHOT


Kyla was pretty, funny, nice, and smart.

She was also Longshot's girlfriend.

A couple of weeks ago, Longshot and I'd been "talking" – you know, me talking, him… not (it is _hard_ to explain) – and he'd brought her up. Actually, he'd asked me if he should ask her out. I didn't know her that well, but she'd seemed nice, so I'd said, "Sure, why not?" She'd said yes, and they'd been on a couple dates since.

Okay, so they'd been doing everything together.

I was glad Longshot had gotten himself a girlfriend, it was about time…

But why did it feel like a slap in the face when I saw them together?

He finally brought her up to the hideout. She was wearing a cute pink dress and unbelievably impractical shoes for balancing on tree branches.

And his arm was around her.

_Slap_.

I tried to shake off the feeling and went over to them.

"Hey," I said.

Longshot nodded. Kyla said, "Oh, hey!" She turned to Longshot. "Is this your sister?"

He chuckled and shook his head. (We're just friends.)

_Slap_.

This time I thought I knew why. I smiled sadly. "He's like the older brother I used to have."

She looked at me, questioning.

"He was killed when the Fire Nation attacked my village," I explained.

Her eyes went wide. "I'm so sorry."

I shrugged. "Forget it. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be a Freedom Fighter. That makes up for it."

She looked around. "It's beautiful up here."

I smiled a bit and nodded. "It really is." I turned to Longshot. "You still up for practice later?"

He smiled. (Yes, Sifu Bee.)

I grinned. "See you then." I turned and walked off.

I didn't really have anything to do, Jet and Pipsqueak were hunting, the Duke was in town, and Spirits knew I wasn't about to talk to Sneers, so I decided to pay Cinnamon and Honey a visit.

I climbed up the rungs to their hut and knocked on the trapdoor.

"Who is it?" Honey called.

"Bee," I said.

"Come on up," Cinnamon said.

I opened the door and poked my head through. They were sitting on the floor, playing a game.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Since when do you guys play Pai Sho?"

Honey raised her head. "Since we stole the set from that platoon a couple weeks ago."

"How'd you learn to play?" I asked, climbing the rest of the way in.

"We watched a few matches in town and figured the rest out ourselves," Cinnamon said, placing another tile on the board.

"So you're not sure," I said, closing the door and sitting on it, seeing as that was the only empty spot on the floor.

"Not really," Honey said, placing another of hers and making Cinnamon scowl.

Cinnamon slapped another down, and Honey followed suit. I just watched them, going back and forth way too quickly for my eyes to follow.

A minute later, Cinnamon slapped one last tile down, grinning. Honey frowned and stuck her tongue out at her.

Cinnamon leaned back, looking victorious, and turned to me. "What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing, really. I don't have anything to do, and everyone else – well, everyone else except Sneers – is busy."

Honey finished scowling at the board and turned to me. "Oh, yeah, I heard Longshot's got his girlfriend over."

_Slap_.

"Yeah," I said, trying to ignore the pain. "She seems nice. Really, really girly, but nice."

"Yeah, how'd I forget that?" Cinnamon said. "Her name's… Kyla, right? I've seen her around the village. She's pretty."

_Slap_.

I winced. "Yeah. Yeah, I can see why he likes her."

My head felt like it was just hit by a boulder. I groaned and massaged my temples.

"You okay?" Cinnamon asked.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I stood up. "If you need me, I'll be in my hut."

I stepped off the door, opened it, and climbed down. I stumbled back to my hut, my head pounding the whole way.

I climbed up and collapsed onto my "bed" (aka piles of rags). I figured a nap wouldn't hurt. I'd only gotten four hours of sleep last night. _That_ must've been why I felt so weird.

No dreams. I woke up about two hours later. It was just about time for class. My student would be waiting.

I yawned, stretched, and climbed down.

I was surprised when I got to the clearing we used for practice. He wasn't there. It wasn't like him to be late.

_Must be saying goodbye to Kyla or something_, I thought. I climbed up a tree, sat down on a branch, leaned back against the trunk, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

When I opened my eyes, it was dark out. "Class" was supposed to've started at 2.

"Hey, Bee! You up there?" a voice called. I looked down. The Duke was standing under my branch.

"Yeah. Hang on, I'm coming down." He moved out of the way and I dropped down.

"Yeah?" I asked, straightening up.

"Fell asleep?"

I nodded.

"Well, come on. It's time for dinner."

"I figured." We started walking back toward the hideout.

The Duke turned to me. "What were you doing out here, anyways? Wasn't Longshot supposed to have class with you?"

"Yeah. He never showed."

He looked confused. "Really? 'Cause I haven't seen him. I figured he must've been with you." We were under the tree.

I shook my head. "Let's just tell Jet. See what he says." We each grabbed a rope and swung up.

We climbed up to the… dining tree, I guess. I found Jet and ran over. "Hey, Jet?"

He turned. "Hey, Smellerbee. Where've you been?"

The Duke came up behind me. "Long story. Have you seen Longshot around? We can't find him."

Jet looked kind of confused. "Waddaya mean you can't find him? He's right over there." He pointed to the table. Longshot was sitting right there, talking to–well, listening to–Pipsqueak.

I glanced at the Duke. He looked just as confused as I felt.

"Hey, Longshot!" I yelled, running over.

He turned around.

"Where were you?" I asked, sitting next to him. "You missed class. You never miss class."

He looked surprised. (Oh, man! I'm sorry. I completely forgot!)

Now I was even more confused. "You… forgot? I told you a few hours before it started. How did you _forget_?"

(I'm sorry,) he repeated. (I was with Kyla, and I just–)

_Slap_.

I forced a smile. "Oh. You were with Kyla. I should've known." I got up and walked away.

I wound up going back up to my hut, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Or, for that matter, what was wrong with _him_. I mean, I knew he liked her, but he was forgetting about everyone else. About _me_.

And, speaking of _me_, what was the matter with me? I missed Longshot, he was never around anymore, but… There was something else. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was there. It was _definitely_ there.

I groaned and shoved my face into my bed. The day played back in my head. When she came, what he'd "said", my visit to the girls, the way she was the exact opposite of me… That last one hit something.

_But why_? I wondered. _Why would I care that she's nothing like me? Longshot likes her, that's all that–_

No. Oh, no. No, no, no. I didn't like Longshot. I _couldn't_ like Longshot. We'd been best friends ever since I found him.

Then again, the hero usually falls for the damsel in distress. (Note to self: If I wanna annoy him, use that.)

Okay, this was getting insane. Just plain _crazy_. I needed some air.

I stepped out, climbed on top of my hut, laid back, and stared up at the sky. There were a few branches in the way, but I was pretty high up.

I must've spent more time trying to figure everything out than I thought. It was at least a couple of hours later.

I watched the stars, just trying to clear my head.

I heard footsteps.

I jolted upright and glanced around. Nothing.

The sound came again.

"Who's there?" If I wasn't so distracted, I probably would've already pulled a dagger on them. I'm glad I was.

(Relax, it's me.)

"Longshot?" I looked around. I didn't see him.

(Hang on.) He climbed up and sat next to me.

"No offense, but why are you here?" I asked.

(What do you mean?)

"I thought you'd be out with your girlfriend."

_Slap_.

"Ow," I whispered, touching my cheek.

(Why do you sound like you don't like her?)

"No, I do. It's just…" Oh, here it comes. "I miss you. You do everything with her. You're never around lately."

He looked away. (Yeah, well, you won't have to worry about that anymore.)

"Waddaya mean?"

He looked back at me. "She broke up with me."

"What? Why?" Part of me was screaming "_Yes_!" I wanted to sock that part in the face.

He shrugged. (Family stuff or something.)

I almost laughed. "Okay. _She_ broke up with _you_ over "family stuff"? Does she have any idea what "family stuff" we've been through? I seriously doubt that whatever's going on with hers could beat ours burning to the ground."

He folded his arms. "Bee, don't be mean."

I chuckled. "Don't be mean? _Don't_ be _mean_? I'm sorry, she's nice. She's pretty. She's… perfect. But we just can't do perfect. It doesn't fit together. Our families burned. Our towns burned. Our _lives_ burned. She wouldn't understand any of that." I was tempted to say 'I would'. Then I wanted to slap some sense into myself.

He was quiet for a moment. Well, he was… You know what I mean! (You're right.)

Okay, I wasn't expecting that. "I am?"

He smiled a bit and nodded. (She wouldn't get it. Half my life revolves around my parents' deaths. She has no idea what it's like. At least I know someone who does.) He ruffled my hair.

I smiled a bit, unsure if I wanted to laugh or cry. Instead of either, I just leaned my head on Longshot's shoulder and watched the stars.


End file.
